Adamant Charlie Nicholas believes Sean Dyche and Ralph Hassenhuttl would relish the chance to become Rangers boss IF Gio van Bronckhorst is axed.
The Dutchman is feeling the heat from angry punters who fear the worst with their team seven points adrift of champions Celtic after their sorry loss to St Johnstone on Sunday. But Van Bronckhorst appears set to remain in place for the club's final two Premiership matches before the World Cup at least. His battle to win back his doubters starts with Hearts' visit to Ibrox on Wednesday night.
Former Southampton boss Hassenhuttl is a free agent after leaving Southampton and Dyche is looking for his gig after leaving Burnley in April. And Nicholas is utterly convinced both would give Rangers serious consideration if a managerial vacancy emerges. Speaking in his Express column, he said: "Dyche and Ralph Hasenhuttl should be serious contenders to replace Giovanni van Bronckhorst - if the Rangers board axe him. Ibrox sporting director Ross Wilson worked with Dyche at Watford as well as Hasenhuttl at Southampton, who sacked the Austrian yesterday. Dyche is also out of work, with Burnley having ended his 10-year tenure there in April.
"They are both options if Van Bronckhorst is shown the door. Dyche would instil belief and a battling mentality in the players, although he isn't known for being a builder of teams as I didn't see too many youngsters at Burnley. I don't think Dyche or Hasenhuttl would be averse to kick-starting their managerial careers in Scotland.
"It would give them the chance to compete for silverware, test themselves in Europe and improve their CVs, just like Brendan Rodgers did when he took the Celtic job. Rangers fans just want results - that's why the clamour for Van Bronckhorst to go intensified after Sunday's 2-1 loss at St Johnstone. In truth, the Gers supporters have been disgruntled for the past three months. Rangers visit St Mirren on Saturday, while leaders Celtic host Ross County. If the seven-point gap between the Old Firm isn't narrowed this weekend then the Ibrox board must look at other managerial options."
A sizeable section of the Rangers support left miffed by their team under the Dutchman's guidance, however, Nicholas believes the 47-year-old will not call it quits. He added: "I doubt Van Bronckhorst will resign because he is too proud. However, I still think the Dutchman has credit in the bank. He might only have won one piece of silverware - last season's Scottish Cup - but look at the money he has brought in with the sales of Nathan Patterson, Joe Aribo and Calvin Bassey, along with the Europa League final run. The anger of Gers' support seems to stem from the fact their team was embarrassed in the Champions League. But I just fail to see what sort of results they expected against teams of the calibre of Napoli, Liverpool and Ajax."
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